RCMP EXTERNAL REVIEW
COMMITTEE
2012-13
Report on Plans and Priorities
_______________________________________
The Honourable Vic Toews, P.C., Q.C., M.P.
Minister of Public Safety
Table of Contents
Chair’s Message ........................................................................................................................... 1
Section I: Organizational Overview .......................................................................................... 3
Raison d’être and Responsibilities ..................................................................................... 3
Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture (PAA) ......................................... 4
Organizational Priorities .................................................................................................... 4
Risk Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 6
Planning Summary ............................................................................................................. 6
Expenditure Profile ............................................................................................................ 7
Estimates by Vote .............................................................................................................. 8
Section II: Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome .......................................... 9
Strategic Outcome .............................................................................................................. 9
Program Activity - Independent and impartial case review .............................................. 9
Program Activity - Internal Services ............................................................................... 11
Planning Highlights ......................................................................................................... 11
Section III: Supplementary Information ................................................................................ 13
Financial Highlights ......................................................................................................... 13
Future-oriented Financial Statements ............................................................................. 13
Supplementary Information Tables .................................................................................. 14
Section IV: Other Items of Interest .......................................................................................... 15
Organizational Contact Information ................................................................................ 15
Chair’s Message
The RCMP External Review Committee (ERC) is an administrative tribunal that is separate from
and independent of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The ERC is established within
the RCMP Act, the same statute that establishes the RCMP itself. This legislation also forms the
basis for the Force’s internal employment dispute resolution process. These details are left to the
Commissioner of the RCMP to design and outline through Commissioner’s Standing Orders
which have the force of subordinate law.
The independent role of the ERC is integrated into the dispute resolution process as a measure
for transparency, allowing members of the public to witness that important employment
decisions are taken in consideration of developing case law in similar professions and with
regard to community standards.
The ERC provides the Commissioner of the RCMP with legally sound recommendations that
take into account the realities of a national police force and that meet the expectations of
Canadians.
Sincerely,
Catherine Ebbs
Chair
March 19, 2012
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RCMP External Review Committee
Section I: Organizational Overview
Raison d’être and Responsibilities
The RCMP External Review Committee (ERC) is an independent and impartial agency that aims
to promote fair and equitable labour relations within the RCMP, in accordance with applicable
principles of law. To this end, the ERC conducts an independent review of appeals in
disciplinary, and discharge and demotion matters, as well as certain categories of grievances that
are referred to it pursuant to s. 33 of the RCMP Act and s. 36 of the RCMP Regulations. The
ERC reports directly to Parliament through the Minister of Public Safety. The ERC's jurisdiction
is restricted to employment and labour matters that relate to regular members and civilian
members of the RCMP only. In carrying out its mandate, the ERC ensures that its
recommendations are solidly grounded in law and that members of the RCMP are treated in a
fair and equitable manner, in keeping with the public interest.
The ERC has one sole member, the Chair, who is appointed by an Order in Council, and is
supported by an Executive Director and a small staff. The role of the ERC in the Force's
labour/management resolution process is a crucial one. Over the years, the RCMP has made
changes in a variety of areas based on recommendations made by the ERC.
As one of two oversight/review bodies over the RCMP, the ERC plays an important role in
maintaining public confidence in the RCMP and ensures that it respects the law and human
rights.
The ERC is part of the Public Safety’s portfolio. Simply put, the ERC’s mandate is the
independent and impartial review of grievances as well as appeals that involve the discipline,
discharge and demotion of RCMP members. Upon completing its review of a case, the ERC
presents findings and recommendations to the Commissioner of the RCMP for a final decision.
The Commissioner is not bound by the recommendations of the ERC, but the Commissioner
must provide reasons when there is disagreement with the recommendations of the ERC.
Organizational Overview
3
Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture (PAA)
Program Activity Architecture
Strategic Outcome
Independent, impartial and thorough analysis, findings and recommendations for transparency in Royal
Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) grievances and appeals.
Program Activity
Independent and impartial case review
Internal Services
Internal Services
In fiscal year 2009-10, the Program Activity ‘Internal Services’ was appended to the ERC’s
PAA. As a result of its experience in attempting to meet the reporting requirements, the ERC
determined that its uniquely small size made the reporting of this Program Activity particularly
inaccurate. The related expenditures could not be reliably apportioned between program
activities without an inordinate expenditure of resources on an ongoing basis.
The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) has granted the ERC an exemption from
reporting on financial commitments to Internal Services as a separate Program Activity in 200910 and 2010-11. The ERC’s circumstances remain largely unchanged, so this report will
continue to present information indicating that the ERC has a single, distinct program activity.
Organizational Priorities
Priority 1
Type
Strategic Outcome and
Program Activity
Continue to deliver on statutory mandate
ongoing
Independent, impartial and thorough analysis,
findings and recommendations for transparency in
RCMP grievances and appeals.
Independent and impartial case review.
Status
Why is this a priority?
C
Contributes to the ERC’s overriding priority to review cases and make sound recommendations to the
Commissioner of the RCMP in an expeditious manner.
Plans for meeting the priority
Longer-term strategic planning and streamlining of processes to continue to improve on service delivery.
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RCMP External Review Committee
Priority 2
Raise awareness through Outreach
Type
Strategic Outcome
ongoing
Independent, impartial and thorough analysis,
findings and recommendations for transparency
in RCMP grievances and appeals.
Status
Why is this a priority?
C
The educational role the ERC plays contributes in a proactive way to a better understanding of grievance
administration and discipline, and discharge and demotion appeals.
Plans for meeting the priority
Providing key stakeholders with information on process, findings and recommendations of the ERC.
Providing training where possible on labour relations.
Engaging the RCMP to further develop its governance framework.
Priority 3
Continue to invest in our people
Type
Strategic Outcome
ongoing
Independent, impartial and thorough analysis,
findings and recommendations for transparency
in RCMP grievances and appeals.
Status
Why is this a priority?
C
ERC places a priority on integrating the vision and intent of Public Service Renewal into its day-to-day
activities.
Plans for meeting the priority
Providing time and resources towards training and education that enhance existing skills and contribute toward
current capacity building, and longer term career objectives of staff.
Priority 4
Continue to improve on the corporate
management framework and
infrastructure
Type
Strategic Outcome
ongoing
Independent, impartial and thorough analysis,
findings and recommendations for transparency
in RCMP grievances and appeals.
Status
Why is this a priority?
C
ERC remains committed to meeting government-wide management and accountability priorities.
Plans for meeting the priority
Stabilizing corporate management framework and infrastructure based on available resources.
Continuing to develop MOUs for IM/IT, HR, and transactional financial support.
Organizational Overview
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Risk Analysis
Since about 2003-04, the ERC has struggled with a growing number of outstanding cases and
with the demand for increased corporate reporting. Temporary funding was secured in 2006-07
from the Treasury Board Management Reserve to help alleviate its critical backlog of cases.
This funding envelope closed in 2011-12. A second amount was secured from the Management
Reserve in 2007-08 to address corporate management pressures. This second funding envelope
closed at the end of the 2008 calendar year. A third temporary funding envelope was secured
starting in 2009-10. It also closed in 2011-12. The challenges related to the volume of pending
cases and the time necessary to review them will continue beyond 2012.
The ERC has followed its established operational plans pursuant to its approved funding from
the Treasury Board for the consolidation of its office space and limited additional temporary
staffing and professional service agreements.
In addition to case reviews, the ERC’s workload also includes significant reporting and
corporate requirements. Given its small size and budget, the ERC is unable to employ staff with
special expertise in the variety of reporting areas required. Therefore the ERC frequently reassigns operational staff to work on unrelated corporate reports. These added reporting
pressures have, at times, contributed to delays in the case review process.
Planning Summary
Financial Resources ($ thousands)
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
938
938
938
Human Resources (Full-Time Equivalent - FTE)
6
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
7
7
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RCMP External Review Committee
Planning Summary Table
Strategic Outcome: Independent, impartial and thorough analysis, findings and recommendations for
transparency in Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) grievances and appeals.
Performance Indicator
Target
Proportion of stakeholders who believe that the ERC is
independent, impartial and brings transparency in the
RCMP grievance and appeal processes.
90%
Program
Activity
Forecast
Spending
2011-12
($thousands)
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
Independent
and impartial
case review
1,556
938
938
938
Total Planned
Spending
1,556
938
938
938
Internal Services *
Planned Spending
($thousands)
Forecast spending 2011-12
($thousands)
0
Alignment to Government of Canada
Outcomes
Well-managed and efficient government
operations
Planned Spending
($thousands)
2012-13
2013-14
0
2014-15
0
0
* The ERC has sought to continue its exemption from reporting separately on Internal Services expenditures.
Expenditure Profile
In the following graph, the black line represents the ERC’s overall expenditure profile. The grey
line represents the first Management Reserve funding envelope secured in 2006-07 to address
the critical backlog of cases at the ERC, which closed in 2011-12. The broken black line
represents the second funding envelope from the Treasury Board Management Reserve secured
in 2007-08 to accommodate corporate management pressures, which closed at the end of the
2008 calendar year. The thick black line represents the third temporary funding envelope
approved in the 2009-10 fiscal year, which also closed in 2011-12. The dotted black line
represents the transfer of funding received from contract policing partners in support of the ERC
operations which ended in 2011-12. The ERC has been seeking to secure permanent funding for
2012-13 onwards to accommodate the continuing effort on the part of the ERC to stay current
with the rate of cases referred to the ERC and to further reduce the waiting time.
Organizational Overview
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Estimates by Vote
For information on ERC’s organizational appropriations, please see the 2012-13 Main Estimates
publication. An electronic version of the Main Estimates is available at http://www.tbssct.gc.ca/est-pre/index-eng.asp.
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RCMP External Review Committee
Section II: Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome
Strategic Outcome
Independent, impartial and thorough analysis, findings and recommendations for transparency in
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) grievances and appeals.
Program Activity - Independent and impartial case review
Program Activity Description
The ERC conducts an independent review of appeals in disciplinary, and discharge and demotion
matters, as well as certain categories of grievances that are referred to it by the Commissioner of
the RCMP pursuant to s. 33 of the RCMP Act and s. 36 of the RCMP Regulations. The ERC
ensures that the principles of administrative and labour law are respected and that the remedial
approach indicated by the Act is followed. The ERC issues reports of its findings and
recommendations in each case to the Commissioner of the RCMP and to the parties. Access to
the ERC’s reports is made available to all stakeholders (including the parties, RCMP
adjudicators, supervisors, members’ representatives, staff relations representatives, and labour
and employment experts in other jurisdictions) by means of its website, publications and
presentations.
Financial Resources ($ thousands)
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
938
938
938
Human Resources (Full-Time Equivalent - FTE)
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
7
7
7
Analysis of Program Activities
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Program Activity Expected Results
Program Activity
Expected Results
Performance Indicators
Targets
Parties and RCMP Commissioner
are provided with a timely
independent review of the dispute
to facilitate transparent and
accountable dispute resolution.
Percentage of cases where findings
and recommendations are issued,
subject to party’s right to
withdraw.
100% of referred files, subject to
party’s right to withdraw
A body of findings and
recommendations is made available
to assist RCMP Adjudicators,
parties, RCMP staff representatives
to interpret legislation, regulations
and policy.
Body of findings and
recommendations is updated
quarterly and made available
online.
Updated within 2 months of end of
quarter.
Public and Parliamentarians are
advised of any areas for legislative,
regulatory or policy change/
clarification.
All recommendations for
legislative change/clarification, if
any, are provided to Parliament in
annual report.
Annual report submitted before
June 30 of each year.
The public and RCMP labour
relations stakeholders have access
to timely and accurate information
on employment and labour relations
cases referred by the RCMP to the
ERC.
Proportion of stakeholders with
access to ERC reports.
94% have access to ERC reports.
The ERC can dispose of matters referred to it by the Commissioner of the RCMP either on the
basis of the material in the record or following a hearing. In conducting its review of the matters
referred to it, the ERC attempts to achieve timeliness and quality in its recommendations, and a
balance amongst the many complex and different interests involved. It strives to ensure that the
principles of administrative and labour law are respected and that the remedial approach
indicated by the RCMP Act is followed. In each case, the ERC must consider the public interest
and ensure that members of the RCMP are treated in a fair and equitable manner.
The ERC ensures that its findings and recommendations in each case are clearly explained for
the concerned parties and the Commissioner of the RCMP. Summaries of the findings and
recommendations in each case, as well as articles of interest on the role of the ERC, relevant
legal principles and information on related issues, are distributed widely. Communication and
outreach tools include: a quarterly publication (Communiqué), including the most recent case
summaries, updates, and legal principles; a website with timely inclusion of publications and
case summaries; the annual report and other government accountability documents; and
presentations, meetings, training and other outreach activities.
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RCMP External Review Committee
The ERC strives to make information available in a timely and accessible manner, with the
objective of influencing in a positive way the RCMP labour relations environment, and
contributing knowledge and ideas to the disciplines of administrative, employment, and labour
law.
The ERC’s focus on effectiveness and efficiency in both its case review process and
management functions will assist it to achieve these results. The statutory mandate of the ERC
in the RCMP Act is case review. It is in this respect that this Program Activity contributes to the
Strategic Outcome.
Program Activity - Internal Services
As indicated above, the Program Activity ‘Internal Services’ was appended to the ERC’s PAA
in fiscal year 2009-10. As a result of its experience in attempting to meet the reporting
requirements, the ERC determined that its uniquely small size made the reporting of this
Program Activity particularly inaccurate. The related expenditures could not be reliably
apportioned between program activities without an inordinate expenditure of resources. The
TBS agreed with the ERC’s assertion and it granted the ERC an exemption from reporting on
financial commitments to Internal Services as a separate Program Activity in that year and the
next. The ERC’s circumstances remain largely unchanged, so this report will continue to present
information indicating that the ERC has a single, distinct program activity.
Planning Highlights
Historical Operating Environment
The strategic outcome of the ERC is the “Independent, impartial and thorough analysis, findings
and recommendations for transparency in Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) grievances
and appeals.” The ERC is an independent arms-length agency created under the RCMP Act.
The focus of the ERC’s work is the impartial, independent and timely review of RCMP labour
relations cases referred to it and the timely issuance of recommendations to the Commissioner of
the RCMP.
As a very small agency, the ERC has one member who is both the Chair and Chief Executive
Officer. She has been re-appointed by the Governor in Council for a term of one year, starting
November 1, 2011. Under the Act, anyone who sits on the ERC cannot be a member or former
member of the RCMP.
By law, the ERC’s case review process starts when the Commissioner of the RCMP refers a case
to it. The ERC itself cannot initiate a review without a referral from the Commissioner. The
cases that must be referred are described in the RCMP Act and include disciplinary appeals,
discharge and demotion appeals and certain categories of grievances. When the ERC conducts a
case review, it examines the entire record including: the original documents, the decision made,
Analysis of Program Activities
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and the submissions of the parties. Where the review involves the appeal of a disciplinary, or
discharge or demotion decision, the transcript of the Adjudication Board hearing is also before
the ERC, as well as any exhibits entered at the hearing. The ERC reviews all the evidence, legal
issues, relevant legislation and judicial decisions in making its recommendation. After
consideration of all the issues, the ERC provides findings and recommendations to the
Commissioner of the RCMP, who is the final decision-maker.
The expeditious handling of cases referred to the ERC is fundamental to maintaining its integrity
and credibility in carrying out its statutory mandate. The ERC routinely deals with, and must
respond to, significant fluctuations in workload, as it has no control over the number of cases
that are referred to it. The ERC has adopted a number of case management practices to ensure
that its review process is as expeditious as possible and to enhance the quality of its findings and
recommendations.
The ERC is committed to continuing its quality case reviews as long as required and to
supporting any future form of labour relations structure that may be designed.
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RCMP External Review Committee
Section III: Supplementary Information
Financial Highlights
The complete ERC’s future-oriented financial statements can be found on its website at the
following address: http://www.erc-cee.gc.ca/index-eng.aspx.
Future-oriented
Condensed Statement of Operations
For the Year (ended March 31)
(in dollars)
$ Change
Forecast
2012-13
Estimated Results
2011-12
Total Expenses
($1,047,166)
$1,184,677
$2,231,843
Total Revenues
$1
$6
$5
($1,047,167)
$1,184,671
$2,231,838
Net Cost of Operations
Future-oriented
Condensed Statement of Financial Position
For the Year (ended March 31)
(in dollars)
$ Change
Total Assets
Forecast
2012-13
Estimated Results
2011-12
($105,189)
$208,377
313,566
Total Liabilities
($33,328)
$340,274
373,602
Equity
($71,861)
($131,897)
(60,036)
Total
($549,105)
$208,377
313,566
The ERC’s Risk Analysis revolves primarily around its fluctuating funding level. This poses a
challenge for long term forecasting and planning. Until such stability is achieved, the variances
in actual expenditures per quarter from one year to the next will continue to be relatively
considerable. The ERC will continue to pursue a permanent increase in its reference level.
Supplementary Information
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Supplementary Information Tables
1.
2.
Greening Government Operations
Upcoming Internal Audits over the next three fiscal years
All electronic supplementary information tables in the 2012-13 Report on Plans and Priorities
can be found on the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s web site at: http://www.tbssct.gc.ca/est-pre/index-eng.asp.
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RCMP External Review Committee
Section IV: Other Items of Interest
Organizational Contact Information
RCMP External Review Committee
P.O. Box 1159, Station B
Ottawa, ON K1P 5R2
Tel: 613-998-2134
Fax: 613-990-8969
Website: www.erc-cee.gc.ca
E-mail: org@erc-cee.gc.ca
Other Items of Interest
RCMP External Review
Committee Annual Reports
RCMP External Review
Committee Communiqué
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